Christmas Video (cross-posted from Warner Brother Studios)

Well my friends, our "Christmas" DVD is finally finished! I will be uploading all of the months over a period of time, but for now you can watch January and February. Enjoy!


January from Dan Warner on Vimeo.


February from Dan Warner on Vimeo.

Diamond Cornerstones

Due to time constraints, my brother and I decided to write in separate blogs, and post in Two Minds Are Better Than One every once in a while. I hope you like my blog, and also check out Daniel's blog while you're online!

Warner Brother Studios

Do to current time constraints, my sister and I decided that it would be best to create our own personal blogs and write in "Two Minds Are Better Than One" every few months. So, if you like, follow me over to Warner Brother Studios!

A Bow in the Clouds...

Last night, I went outside to walk my dog. I looked up and saw one of the strangest, and most beautiful things I have ever seen. It was a rainbow around the moon!

Scientifically defined, a halo around the moon is simply "caused by the refraction of moonlight (which of course is reflected sunlight) from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere,"* but it means so much more...

Because, you see, God has promised that the rainbow "shall be for a token of a covanent between Me and the earth." (Genesis 9:13) Every rainbow represents a promise....

It would seem that the promises are only for when life is going well, since the rainbow is usually seen during the day. But in reality, like the rainbow, God's words are more stunning in the darkness, when life is not going well...

...That's the beauty of a promise.

*Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_it_mean_when_there's_a_ring_around_the_moon#ixzz160snipLP

Northeast Youth Retreat 2011

We are sooo excited! Registration for NEYR 2011 is open! This year in addition to paper registration forms we have an secure online form as well. It's all at neyouthretreat.info

We hope to see all of you there!

Apotheosis (v. 2.0)

You probably wouldn't guess, but I am about as shy as it gets. Up until I was about 14 or 15, I literally hid behind Mama whenever we met new people. Even now, at 19, it still physically hurts to talk to strangers.

But God has been teaching me things about my shyness, especially in the past two years.

The first thing He showed me is that "a man that hath friends must show himself friendly..." (Proverbs 18:24) When I learned this, I could count all my friends, family included, on two hands, and I desperatley wanted more. So, for purely selfish reasons, I let go of a tiny bit of my shyness, and started being sort-of friendly.

Another thing I learned is that I can't minister to others if I'm busy nursing my fear of them. I mean, if I notice a girl sitting alone in a corner, that is a perfect opportunity to reach out to her and show her the love of God. If I'm busy being shy right then, I completly miss that chance to do good for my Father's cause.

The last thing I learned is that my shyness could keep me out of Heaven. Shyness if you get down to it, is selfishness. It is thinking about what "self" wants, and what makes "self" happy, before thinking about others and what makes them happy. Shyness also prohibits a person from fulfiling the Great Comission, because if he/she is shy, they can't teach all nations, since they are frightened of other people.

As I was contemplating the things God taught me about being shy, I realized that shyness is really apotheosis. It is elevating my comfort level above God and His plans for me. It is placing my fear of people above His love of them. It is putting myself in a position where I can't fulfill His will...in a position where the only will I can fulfill is my own.

I still have a hard time talking to strangers. I still don't like being by myself in a new situation. And even though I have the most friends of everyone in my family, I still have to choke down my shyness every time I meet someone new. I know that God wants me to leave behind my fear of people, and put Him first...not myself.

Apotheosis

Apotheosis. 

It's a somewhat intimidating word. It refers to the exaltation of a subject to a divine level. Some examples:

I am naturally an obsessive person, and the first thing that I remember obsessing about were Legos. Don't get me wrong, Legos are probability the greatest toy ever invented, but I took it to excess. All I did every spare minute was build with Legos, think about Legos, talk about Legos, read the Lego magazine, etc. My parents (who as I said before are very smart people) decided to make me stop playing, reading, thinking, and living in my Lego world. It hurt for awhile, but as I got over it I moved on to other things, like music.

Music was not my first choice for a hobby, but even so I grew to adore it more than Legos. It got so bad at one point that in the middle of Sabbath School I would pull out a piece of paper and write down a chord progression! My life was fully possessed by music. Once again, my parents intervened and several times removed music and then reinstated it into my life.

Apotheosis is something that we are all prone to. Everyone has had something that takes the place that only God should hold. The only prescription for apotheosis is loving God. If we are willing to let go of the things that hold us, love for Him will give us freedom.